Rich culture, delicious food and stories from Afghanistan

Little Extras

07/23/2014

Cherry season always makes me think of Afghanistan where the cherries are unbeatable. Today my daugther Sofia and I had a great time with my new cherry pitter. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make this recipe with this handy gadget. I was a minimalist with my kitchen but just in the past month along with the cherry pitter, I also purchased a rice maker and a bread maker from Good Will. They were so cheap, I had to have them. I can't explain my kitchen gadgets buying craze, perhaps it is countering my effort to edit my wardrobe.

This recipe is kind of an unusual one, and includes my three favorite ingredients: yogurt, cherries and garlic. I know many people may cringe at the thought of mixing garlic with cherries and yogurt, but it's really delicious. Since cherry season is upon us I thought I would share this recipe.

I like to serve Garlicky Yogurt with Cherries as an appetizer or a side dish with chicken and lamb kebabs. I make it with dried garlic which lends a subtle flavor; it is less biting than raw garlic. This also makes a satisfying snack that is a nice alternative to parfaits or sugary yogurts. Using full-fat yogurt is richer and tastier, but I usually make it with non-fat for health reasons. Enjoy.

Garlicky Yogurt and Cherries

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

1 pinch dried ground garlic

1/4 tsp. salt ( more if you like the sweet & salty flavors)

1 cup whole raw cherries, pitted and halved

1 tbsp. chopped fresh mint (optional)

Mix the yogurt, garlic, and salt in a bowl and stir until the yogurt is creamy. Add the cherries and mix until the cherries are coated with yogurt and distributed evenly around the bowl. The sauce will turn pink. Scatter the mint over the top.

07/01/2014

Saveur Magazine Article

By Monica Bhide

When I was a child in Delhi, India, cardamom was as familiar as the air I breathed. Its sweet, woodsy perfume regularly filled the house when my parents were cooking. But it took me a while to appreciate the spice's flavor. "Too strong for me," I would say as I picked the pale green cardamom pods out of any rice dish or curry that was placed before me. It wasn't until I got a bit older and started drinking masala chai, India's ubiquitous brew of tea, milk, and spice, that I began to come around. Each Indian home has its own version, its own mix of flavoring spices. My father's chai was spiced only with cardamom, and plenty of it. He'd use a mortar and pestle to crush the pods and release their flavor before steeping them with the strong black tea. Perhaps it was the richness of the milk that made the difference: it seemed to both soften and deepen the flavor of the spice. All at once I was able to discern the cardamom's penetrating warmth and the way its complex flavor of pine, sweet musk, and bright citrus was awakened by the bitterness of the tea.

After my family moved from India to Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf, I discovered gahwa, the fragrant Arabic cardamom coffee, and loved nothing better than sipping it along with a square of cardamom-spiced baklava. It was Arab traders who first carried cardamom from India to Babylon, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, and today the Arab countries still consume more of it than any other place on earth.

It's still a precious commodity, too—nearly as costly as saffron and vanilla because, like them, it must be harvested by hand—and when I was a teenager, in our house as well as at our neighbors', serving cardamom to guests was understood as a gesture of respect. Often, that would mean producing an extravagantly spiced biryani made with nutty-tasting basmati rice, quite possibly the best vehicle for cardamom ever discovered. Sometimes, after a big meal, we'd follow my grandmother's custom and pass around cardamom pods to chew. In the ayurvedic system, cardamom is as much medicine as it is food; the same aromatic compounds that give the spice its flavor and warming properties also aid digestion.

As I began to spend more time in the kitchen, I learned that there is more than one type of cardamom and that each brings its own qualities to a dish. Green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), the most highly prized kind, is a bushy herb of the ginger family native to southwest India. It's cultivated extensively there and in Guatemala, now the world's largest exporter; Costa Rica, Tanzania, and Sri Lanka are the other top producers. The plants grow in clusters of slender stalks about 10 feet tall with large, lance-shaped leaves. The spice pods, which grow on shoots at the plant's base, are picked when they are just ripening and then dried under the sun or in a kiln. These small, oval pods and the tiny black seeds within contain the various compounds we experience as sweet, floral, and eucalyptus-like. That unique balance works as well in savory dishes as it does in sweet ones.

Black cardamom (Amomum subulatum), a spice native to the Himalayas and cultivated today in Nepal, India, China, and Bhutan, has larger, deeply ridged pods that are dried over wood fires. As a result, the pods take on a dark brown color and a bold, smoky flavor that would overwhelm a sweet cake or pudding, but in a spice rub for roasted meat or in a full-flavored stew it imparts a smoldering depth no other spice can. Used together in a single dish, such as my family's chicken curry, green and black cardamom can harmonize beautifully. I've learned, too, about similarly fragrant relatives of cardamom, including delicate, floral Thai cardamom (see Expressions of Cardamom) and peppery West African grains of paradise.

Since I moved to the United States 19 years ago, cardamom has been both a link to home and a bridge to other cuisines. The Scandinavians, it turns out, are second only to the Arabs in their hunger for cardamom, which the Vikings discovered in Constantinople a thousand years ago. Nordic cooks grasped early on that the fat-soluble spice blooms when baked in butter-laden sweets and breads. It's the keynote in the luscious Swedish cream puffs known as semlor and in Finland's yeast-risen, braided pulla bread, among many other baked treats.

In the cooking classes I teach, I advise students to buy pods of green cardamom with a vibrant color and a strong fragrance; ones that are dull looking and shriveled will almost certainly have lost their flavor. The product labeled "white cardamom" is really just green cardamom that's been bleached for purely aesthetic reasons, and—to judge from the kinds I've tried—robbed of most of its taste and aroma. And since the flavor evaporates very quickly from the seeds once they're removed from the pod, and especially once they've been ground, it's best to buy the spice whole. If you want to cook with just the seeds—I like to fry them in oil to create a flavor base for all kinds of dishes—just use your fingers to pop open the pods and remove the seeds; keep the empty pods for steeping in coffee or tea. When I'm making desserts, I'll grind the seeds to a powder using a mortar and pestle or an electric spice grinder. As for black cardamom, it's almost always used whole and then discarded after cooking. I've never seen it for sale already ground.

I'm happy to say that my children have loved cardamom from the start. When I make the cardamom-spiced rice pudding called kheer, I tell them the story of how, once upon a time, I was a young engineering student who had just moved to the States. Everything was unfamiliar; nothing seemed to taste quite right. Finally, I borrowed ingredients from my neighbors and set about making my mother's kheer. When the milk, sugar, and rice began to simmer, I broke open a few pods of cardamom and dropped them into the pan; soon the kitchen began to radiate the spice's familiar scent. As I leaned over the stove to taste the kheer, the doorbell rang. Standing outside was a handsome young man who said he lived in the building next door. He was an MBA student from Mumbai; on his way to the library, he'd caught the scent of cardamom and, himself a little homesick, couldn't resist following it to its source. At this point my kids usually chime in. "That's when you met Daddy!" they cry, and my husband grins. Then we eat the kheer together, and the cardamom tastes just strong enough.

04/25/2014

Jeja (my mom) has a reputation of being an excellent cook within the Bay Area Afghan community. I wouldn’t dare share any recipe that wouldn’t pass muster with her. In this blog I share my family's home cooking recipes for your Western kitchen. The blog is my way to educate the world about Afghan people and the delicious food of Afghanistan. It's also my effort to keep in touch with my cultural heritage as I raise my two daughters in San Francisco, California.

My research for this blog has not only strenghtened my relationship with my mom, it has also given me great appreciation and understanding of Afghan people.

What has been most surprising to me is how food brings people across all cultures together.

Once I was at my daughter's class pot-luck -- I introduced myself to the math teacher. She looked at my name tag and said,

I am alway thrilled a to meet a reader but, the ones that take my recipes and make it their own is even more exciting to me.

In this blog the recipes have been tested by Afghans and non Afghans. I always retain the delicious flavors of Afghan food but simplify the cooking so it's accessible to experienced and novice cooks.

Padron chilis are small and relatively mild. I used them in this recipe to create my version of an Afghan chili sauce, a condiment commonly served with kebabs or as an accompaniment to other side dishes. I don’t particularly like super spicy foods, but I love a little zing of pepper alongside milder dishes. This sauce is designed to brighten the flavors of rice, meat or Qorma dishes without overpowering the food. Use sparingly.

Afghan Inspired Spicy Chili Sauce

Chutney

2 pints padron chilis (around 22 peppers), ends off and seeds removed

3 cloves peeled garlic

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons roughly chopped walnuts

½ cup white vinegar

Put the peppers, garlic, salt, black pepper, walnuts, and vinegar in the food processor and use the pulse button to grind the peppers and mix the ingredients. Pulse a couple of times, wipe the sides, check the consistency and pulse more. The sauce looks best and ends up with a pleasing crunch if you don’t over blend it. If you prefer things really spicy, use a hotter chili like jalapenos.

Serve in a small bowl and use a small amount to eat with whatever you are making for dinner.

04/10/2014

Ever since leaving Afghanistan 34 years ago, I would think back to the summer days in Paghman where my family would go for Friday outings to escape the Kabul heat. Paghman is only a short drive from Kabul but has very mild weather. Wealthy Kabulis would spend their summer days in their lush villas, have picnics in their beautiful gardens and swim in the rivers of Paghman.

Our summer holidays were filled with great food but my favorite was the afternoon snack of fresh cheese with raisins (kishmish paneer). A local Kochi-nomad woman would deliver the fresh panare which would be wrapped in a cloth. It would be served on a platter with black raisins, nuts and fresh fruit. My mouth is watering just writing about it.

My family never found an equivelant to Afghan panare in American, so we created our own recipe. The cheese is very mild in flavor and has a chewy mozzarella like consistency . The key to bringing the flavors out is the raisins. They are heavenly together. You can also have it on a cracker with a dribble of cherry preserve or honey. Many Americans who have tasted it feel that it needs more salt but traditionally this cheese has unrecognizable amount of salt. You can adjust the recipe to your own taste.

I hope you love this as much as I do.

Fresh Afghan Cheese

Kimish Panare

1/2 gallon of one percent milk

1/2 gallon of buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. of salt

Cheese cloth (Whole foods, Bed Bath & Beyond)

Round deep colander

Raisins

This recipe can be doubled.

In a large heavy pan heat the milk on medium heat. While waiting, cut the cheese cloth to fit the colander and have some of it drape off the side of the colander. If the mesh on the cheese cloth is not very fine, lay 2-3 layers.

Just when the milk starts to boil (don't burn the bottom) remove it from heat. Add the buttermilk and salt. Stir for 1 minute. Set the colander in the sink and slowly pour the contents of the pot into the colander. Make sure that the cheese cloth doesn't slide off the sides of the colander. The milk will curdle and the liquid will drip out of the colander. Scrape the side of the cheese cloth to speed up the drainage of the liquid.

The contents will reduce slowly. Grab the side of the cheese cloth and tie with with a clip or a rubber band. Continue squeezing the cheese cloth until there is barely any water squeezing out but it should still feel moist otherwise the cheese will be too dry. By now the cheese should be the size of a large softball.

Put the cheese in the cheese cloth with a bowl lined with two layers of paper towel. Leave it in the fridge for 2-3 hours or until it is solid.

Take the cheese out of the cheese cloth, cut in 1/4 inch thick slice, serve with black raisins.

04/03/2014

Haleem is a delicacy mostly enjoyed in the cold winter months of Afghanistan. It’s considered a warming dish, usually made with protein, oats and wheat. In Afghanistan, due to the high price of chicken, Haleem is made with beef. Traditionally it’s served in a bowl with brown sugar and topped with a generous dollop of hot cooking oil. Haleem lovers in the Afghan diaspora, mostly use chicken and they substitute butter for oil.

I didn’t grow up eating Haleem, since Jeja, my mom, can't stand the idea of protein in her oatmeal. Truthfully, I only learned about the dish a few months ago at an Afghan dinner party. I was immediately obsessed with finding the right recipe. My sister Nabila reached out to her network of accomplished Afghan cooks. We found many variations in people’s techniques. Some people use whole chicken, others use short grain rice instead of oatmeal. In many cases people added milk before baking the dish in a dutch oven overnight

After much testing and tasting, we came up with an easy recipe which makes having a hot bowl of Haleem very easy. You can wake up to the scent of cardamom.

Aghan Breakfast Oatmeal with Chicken and Cardamom

Haleem

One skinless, boneless chicken breast, around ½ lb

cinnamon stick

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 rolled oats

¾ cup Cream of Wheat

1 tsp ground cardamom

Crock pot

Place chicken breast in a heavy pot, add five cups of water, a cinnamon stick and salt, bring to boil. Cover top, reduce heat to low, simmer for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and soft. Remove pot from heat, let it cool for half hour.

Discard cinnamon stick. Add chicken breast and two cups of broth to a food processor. Save the rest of the broth if there is any. Pulse the chicken and broth five to eight times until it becomes a thick mixture.

In a large crockpot, add oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, chicken mixture, left over chicken broth, cardamom and 5 cups of water. Stir well. Set crockpot on low for eight hour.

Serve in a large bowl with a generous spoonful of powdered sugar and a knob of butter. Stir well and enjoy. I usually add almonds milk, chopped dates and walnuts to my bowl of Haleem.

02/27/2014

Yogurt is one of my obsessions. I eat it with everything. I love the tangy cool taste, which enhances every dish. Once I horrified my husband by dumping two large spoonfuls of plain yogurt into my bowl of ramen noodles.

Afghans add yogurt as a topping to many dishes such as kadoo, aushak, and aush. However, my family goes over the top, we add yogurt to everything. Recently I learned I am allergic to yogurt. This was a sad day for me. Apparently I am allergic to the protein in milk not be confused with lactose intolerance. This type of allergy can cause inflammation, body aches, mucus build-up and cold symptoms.

As part of my yogurt grieving, I went on a rampage of furious yogurt making. Since I couldn’t eat any of it, the yogurt was delivered throughout the city to my taste testers at children’s basketball games, carpool lines or by husband’s delivery service.

For years I have watched Jeja (my mom) make tangy creamy yogurt but I never mustered up the courage to make it myself. When I finally dove in, I found yogurt making very relaxing and rewarding. To transform a liquid into a semi-solid made me feel like a chemist or, better yet, a magician.

The right yogurt starter is the key to success. Unbelievably yogurt starter is just a few spoonfuls of yogurt. The yogurt kick starts the thickening of the milk proteins, adds tartness and acts as a preservative. Choose your favorite yogurt as the yogurt starter; your homemade yogurt will taste just like it. I use Saint Benoit Yogurt which is creamy, tart and to die for.

Heating the milk to the right temperature is important. The milk must first reach 185° and then it must cool to 110° before you add the yogurt starter. I used a digital thermometer to help track the temperature. I hung the thermometer on the side of the pot and kept an eye on it until it reached the right temperatures. In the recipe I provide some pointers to help you gauge the right temperature if you don’t have a thermometer.

This recipe calls for whole milk, which makes the yogurt very creamy but you may use 2% or 1% milk, which met my tester’s approval too.

Homemade Creamy and Tangy Yogurt

½ gallon whole organic milk

3 tablespoons good quality whole milk yogurt with live and active cultures

heavy bottom deep pan

two 2 pint size jars with tight fitting lids, disinfected and dry

Instand read thermometer (optional)

I think making yogurt overnight is the best way to do it. There's nothing like waking up to a fresh batch to have with your breakfast. Letting the milk rest in the oven (turned off, of course) is the ideal spot according to Jeja, who feels the cozy temperature of the oven is just right for turning milk into yogurt. Don't forget to set aside 3 tablespoons of your finished yogurt to use as a starter for your next batch before you gobble it all down.

Pour the milk into a deep, heavy bottom saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook stirring occasionally, until the milk reaches 185°. You can test this using an instant read thermometer or gauge it by cooking the milk just until it is on the verge of boiling. Look for lots of tiny bubbles on the surface of the milk. This will take about 15 minutes depending on your pan and stove. Remove the milk from the heat and let is cool to 110°. This will take about an hour.

While the milk cools down, put the starter yogurt into a medium bowl and stir with a fork until creamy. Once the milk has cooled to 110°, pour into the bowl and stir for 2 minutes to make sure the yogurt and milk are mixed well.

Pour the milk into the jars and close the lids tightly. Place the jars on baking tray right next to each other so they can keep each other warm, cover with several dishcloths to make them cozy. Place them in a warm place, such as near the stove, for 9-12 hours to rest.

Serving size: Half a gallon of milk make ½ gallon of yogurt

My thermometer was really handy with reaching the right temprature

If you don't have a thermometer look for the bubblesl which is a great indicator of reaching the right temprature.

09/05/2013

Bolani is Afghan unleavened bread stuffed with any number of fillings, typically potatoes, or gandana (akin to leeks). Not quite turnover, not quite crepe, or quesadilla, it’s in a category all its own, and completely worth knowing about.

The De Afghanan Kebab House, a hole-in-the wall along the strip known as “Little Kabul” in Fremont, makes the best bolani we know. Watching the cooks roll out, fill and brown the big, beautiful bolani is worth a road trip. You can also find bolani sold by the folks at East West Gourmet Foods, who set up shop at many of the Bay Area farmers’ markets and sell at Whole Foods.

We’ve taken some liberties with the recipe here. Making the bolani dough from scratch requires elbow grease, along with an investment of time many of us don’t have. Using tortillas is a doable short cut. The sweet potatoes are also a departure from the norm. The sweet, tender flesh of the potatoes marry well with cilantro and scallions.

Bolani are best hot out of the sauté pan, when they are still brown and crispy. Serve them cut in half as an appetizer or tucked in a lunchbox along with a spoonful of yogurt.

Sweet Potato and Cilantro Turnover: Bolani

1 pound sweet potatoes

1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro

1/3 cup finely chopped scallions, white and light green parts

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons water

6 6-inch flour tortillas

Plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Roast the sweet potatoes in the oven until very tender. The time will vary depending on the size of the potatoes.

Cut the potatoes in half, scoop out the flesh and put it into a medium bowl. Discard the skin. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the sweet potatoes along with the cilantro, scallions, and salt. Mash with a fork until thoroughly combined. You can make this ahead of time and keep it refrigerated until ready to use.

In a small dish, mix together the flour and water to make a paste. Set a tortilla on your work surface and spread ¼ cup of the potato mixture on the tortilla, leaving a half-inch border around the rim. Using your finger spread a small amount of the paste around the edge of half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla over, encasing the potatoes into a half circle. Press the two sides of the tortillas together firmly to form a tight seal.

Heat the remaining ¼ cup of oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the bolani, two at a time, until golden on both sides. The bolani should sizzle when they hit the pan. Lay cooked bolani on a paper towel. These are best served warm but are tasty at room temperature.

05/16/2013

On
mother’s day I was telling Jeja, my mom, about an Afghan dinner party I
hosted. She always wants to know the
menu. Followed by a long discussion about whether there were enough dishes served. To change the subject, I told her about the eggplant dip I invented for an appetizer and then described it to her.
She frowned and then said, “That is Laghataq,
one of your grandfather’s favorite dishes.”
It goes to show you that everything has been done before and there are
no new inventions.

This is the perfect dish to share or take to a potluck. You can make it several days in advance and I find that everyone loves it, inculding children. Since I have been asked for this recipe many times, I finally hunkered down and wrote the ingredients down. Warning! This dish uses a
good amount of olive oil. Don’t skimp on the
oil since it adds flavor and creaminess to the dish.

I hope
you enjoy this dish as much I do.

Creamy Afghan Eggplant Dip

Laghataq

Heat oven to 300 degree

One eggplant cut in ¼ inch disks

1 red bell pepper cut in thin strips

2 medium tomatoes, toughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, pealed

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. paprika

½ cup Greek yogurt or Lebni

pinch of garlic powder

1 tsp. salt

Pour two tablespoons of the olive oil on a cookie sheet and spread around with
fingers. Arrange the eggplant disks on
the greased cookie sheet. Place the tomatoes and
red pepper on top of the eggplant.

Add the following ingredients in a blender: garlic, tomato sauce, tomato
paste, remaining olive oil, cumin, coriander, and paprika. Blend until all the ingredients are mixed and
the sauce is smooth. Pour the sauce over
the ingredients on the cookies sheet and make sure that it covers the eggplant. Spread the sauce with a
spoon over the eggplant to insure it is distributed evenly.

Bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours on 300 degrees. The baking time varies with each oven. It is important to slow cook this dish in order for all the flavors of
the ingredients to be absorbed by the eggplant. To test
done ness, press the eggplant and the peppers with the back of a fork, if the fork sinks in easily it is
done.

Let the eggplant cool for 1/2 hour before throwing all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse three or
four times, don’t over blend, make sure that you can see small chunks of the
eggplant. Remove
content and place in deep serving dish.
The dip can be served cold or at room temperature.

I am dairy free, so I eat this dip with out yogurt but I must admit, it is
more delicious with the yogurt topping.
In a bowl mix the yogurt, salt and garlic powder until creamy. Pour the yogurt sauce on top of the dip. Serve with pita slices or pita chips.

03/14/2013

I remember when I was pregnant with my first daughter, my brother Tamim and I went for a long walk at the end of which we were both starving. We wandered into a corner market and he immediately reached for a Snicker's (his favorite) and was quite satiated. I, on the other hand, scanned the aisles for almonds, or walnuts, or perhaps even a banana, to no avail. I finally walked away with a tired-looking cheese stick from the back of the cooler. My brother marveled at my willpower. I had to admit to him that it wasn’t willpower at all.

When I’m hungry, I want real food, something I attribute to having been raised in Afghanistan where there was little in the way of processed food. Snacks in our house consisted of nuts, raisins, cucumber, fresh fruit, and on occasion, a lightly sweetened Afghan bread (roht) which we ate with tea.

My poor daughters dream of a day when they come home from school to the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies like they see at some friends’ houses. Instead they get a bowl of walnuts with dried mulberries. Their response, “Why can’t we ever have something normal?”

I’m happy to report that this is something that my daughter Sofia actually does like. She considers them an acceptable snack. I came up with the recipe as something to serve with cocktails for a party Katie and I hosted. It is very flavorful, not at all greasy or spicy. It’s my favorite snack!

Heat a wok or large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add oil, turmeric and salt; quickly stir to make a paste. Immediately add the cashews and stir-fry for 1 minute, turning the cashews in the pan to coat with the spices but don’t burn them. Pour into a colander. Shake the colander for 1 minute to eliminate extra spices; you may need to brush off extra coating of turmeric. Let cool and store in a jar with a tight lid.

04/11/2012

A cross-cultural burger: An Afghan-spiced beef and bulgur kebab served on pita with yogurt

Afghan dumplings topped with ground lamb and garlic yogurt

By Katie

A while back I had a vegetable tagine at Nopa, a restaurant here in San Francisco.The tagine itself was lovely.Best of all, it was crowned with a spoonful of rich, tart yogurt gently perfumed with lemon.Although tagine is distinctly Moroccan, the slow-cooked quality of the vegetables, and the fact that the dish was served with yogurt, reminded me of Afghan food.The next day I tinkered in the kitchen with a container of yogurt, a Meyer lemon and a zester.A dollop over a dish of dal was the perfect lunch

If you are familiar at all with Afghan cuisine you know that yogurt is a dietary staple. It always has a presence at the table whether poured over, stirred into, or resting atop a cooked dish, or served plain, usually spiked with dried garlic and a touch of salt.

The Afghans were way ahead of their time where yogurt is concerned.Back in the 1970s when Americans still considered yogurt to be “hippie food”, Afghans had been eating it for centuries.It’s as much a part of the cuisine there as basmati rice and nan bread.

Afghans were on to something.Yogurt plays an important role in their diet from both a nutritional standpoint and a culinary one.Not only is it a fine source of calcium, it is loaded with “good” bacteria, which is what actually turns ordinary milk into yogurt.Plus, the cooling yogurt balances the warming spices and long-cooked flavors so central to Afghan cuisine.

Most of the yogurt we eat here in the U.S. comes in fruity flavored eight-ounce tubs.In Afghanistan they’ve drummed up far more interesting preparations.

Mast

Mast is the Afghan word for yogurt.It is traditionally thicker and richer than what we are accustomed to eating.Humaira and I approximate the consistency by using equal parts Greek-style and American-style yogurt.

Chaka

This is a very dense yogurt made by straining full-fat yogurt through cheese cloth for several hours.It turns thick and tangy.You can easily substitute Greek yogurt for chaka.

Quoroot

The Afghans have a very clever way of preserving yogurt, since refrigeration is non-existent throughout much of the country.They strain, salt and dry it into hard balls called quoroot.The quoroot is then reconstituted in water and used in cooking.This was particularly useful for nomads who preserved their precious milk and tucked it into bags to be pulled out when they set up camp.Quoroot is still commonly used in a savory bread pudding called quorooti.You can find a recipe for it here on Afghan Cooking Unveiled listed under Main Dishes.

Dough

Afghans also drink their yogurt in the form of something called dough.It is a mixture of plain yogurt, water, cucumber, fresh mint and salt.Served cold, it is considered quite a treat in the hot summer months.I haven’t yet developed a taste for salty, minty yogurt drinks, but then again, I’ve never experienced a hot Afghan summer.Until I do, I’ll stick with my old Afghan standards --topped, of course, with yogurt.

06/22/2011

As a fifth grader in Kabul I had an allowance of one Afghani per day to buy a snack.Contrary to popular misconception, the Afghani doesn’t refer to a person, but to Afghanistan’s currency.One Afghani was worth about 10 cents at the time.

All my friends would use their allowance to buy special treats from the school canteen, but I would stop at the vegetable store on the way to school to purchase the largest cucumber I could afford. With school in session from March through November, the crunchy cucumbers with the small seeds had a cooling effect on me through the hot summer months -- I so looked forward to recess.In retrospect I must have been a strange child to pick a cucumber over candy, but I won’t go into self analysis in this posting.

Persian cucumbers remind me of the wonderful cucumbers I used to covet as a child.They are thin, small and reliably crunchy.Peeled and cut into slivers they can be a great snack, a fine addition to a veggie platter and a healthy part of a sack lunch. My kids love them.

Previously I could only find Persian cucumbers at Afghan or Persian grocery stores, but now Trader Joe’s and some larger grocery stores carry them. Here is a recipe for an Afghan appetizer I created and brought to a friend’s party.There are few appetizers in the Afghan cuisine.I serve this one with pita chips. It also makes a nice side dish.

Yogurt, Cucumber and Mint Dip

1 cup plain yogurt

2 Persian cucumbers, roughly chopped

½ tsp. Kosher salt

½ tsp. dried mind or 2 tsp. fresh mint

Pinch of dried, ground garlic

Mix all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir thoroughly. Serve with pita chips, sambosas or bolani.

04/20/2011

A couple of weeks ago my sister Nabila had a birthday party for my brother Waheed, which signified an important and unmentionable age. So, my various siblings, nieces and nephews flocked to West Hollywood for this memorable occasion. I offered to pitch in with drinks and appetizers, but after hearing the rather elaborate menu Nabila had planned, I realized my help would be insignificant.

Nabila is one of the most talented people I know. You could say she is the Martha Stewart of our family: an excellent cook, accomplished artist, designer and seamstress. She is not into traditional Afghan cooking. She always puts her own spin on everything, which usually has fabulous results, but sometimes drives my mom, Jeja (a traditionalist) a little crazy. With our expanding, global world, and the fact that so many Afghans have lived in multiple places, like our family has, there is bound to be some intermingling of tastes, spices and creative ideas.

This birthday party was truly a global one with guests’ representing all nationalities: Swiss, Iranian, German/French, and Afghans. Nabila put out quite an amazing spread with Kitchree Quroot, Borani Banjan, Qorma e Murgh with Challaw, and a delicious mixed green salad with fruit.

Interestingly, the hit of the party was a cream cheese appetizer made with pineapple, green onions, cumin and cilantro. It’s not particularly Afghan, more multicultural, like so many of Nabila’s winning creations. So, it is in the spirit of globalization that I share this non-Afghan appetizer made by an Afghan for you to make for your next party.

Nabila's Afghan Cream Cheese Spread

8 oounces cream cheese

1/3 cup mashed unsweetened pineapple

¼ cup finely chopped green onions (around 4 onions)

¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

¼ teaspoon cumin

Dash of salt and pepper to taste

Take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to bring to room temperature. This should take an hour.

In a large bowl mix the cream cheese with all of the other ingredients until thoroughly combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roll the mixture into a large ball, place on a pretty serving plate, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Serve with crackers or unsalted pretzel chips.

Additional options you may want to try:

~1/3 cup of chopped roasted walnuts or pecans

~1/3 cup of finely chopped apples instead of pineapple

~¼ cup of raisins

~Or mix 1 tablespoon of each: dried cilantro, dill and mint in a plate. Cover the cheese ball with the dried herb mixture until all sides, top and bottom are covered then refrigerate. The dried herbs add an additional dimension of great flavor.

02/11/2011

Last Sunday the girls and I went to Jeja's (my mom) house bearing Valetine's gifts for what we thought was an early celebration. The girls gave Jeja her flowers, chocolate and a bottle of perfume and wished her happy Valentine's day. Jeja looked confused, then she went to her garage and brought out two large zip loc bags of yellow and red sultana rasisins and gave them to me. I asked her what is this? Her response "It's for whatever you gave me gifts for".

I was really surprised that Jeja had no idea about the significance of Valentine's day in the US after 32 years of living here. It goes to show how insular of a life older immigrants can lead and why their connection to their mother country is so strong . Valentine's day is not celebrated in Afghanistan but we wanted to share this recipe with you so this year you can surprise your sweetheart with the unexpected sweet our almond britttle instead of the predictable box of chocolate. I think men can really impress the love of their lives by giving this recipe a try but don't forget to throw in a piece of jewelry too.

This almond brittle features the subtle yet distinct flavor of cardamom along with several options to play with the seasonings.The biggest challenge with this recipe is to get it into the gift bag or box before you’ve gobbled it all up.The crunchy sweet Afghan combo is highly addictive.

Cardamom Almond Brittle

Khasta e Shereen

1 ½ cup granulated sugar

1 lb. unsalted roasted almonds*

1 1/2 teasspoon ground cardamom

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.Spread the almonds in a single layer on the baking sheet, grouping them all together with no spaces between the nuts.

Heat the sugar in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat, stirring regularly.The sugar will eventually turn to liquid.Continue to cook, stirring all the while, until the sugar is golden brown.Add the cardamom and cook a little longer until it reaches a deep amber color and smooth texture.The whole process of caramelizing the sugar will take about 15 to 20 minutes.

Drizzle the sugar in a thin stream evenly over the top of the almonds, covering them all.Cool completely.Break up the almonds with your fingers into two-bite pieces.Store in a jar with a tight lid or package for gifts.

*if you buy raw almonds, toast them in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes before doing the recipe

Options:

You can use a number of ingredients to lend different flavors to your nuts.In place of cardamom (the traditional Afghan flavor) try the following:

nStir 1/3 cup cocoa nibs into the melted sugar in place of the cardamom

nAdd ½ teaspoon ground cayenne or ground black pepper to the melted sugar in place of the cardamom

nSprinkle 3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel over the top of the caramelized sugar after you’ve poured it on the almonds.The salt will be delicious with or without the cardamom.

For more holiday gift giving ideas, Afghan and otherwise, check out the recipes here.

04/17/2010

As the non-Afghan in this blogging duo I feel a particular responsibility to get my Afghan food facts straight.Humaira reviews all of my posts before they go live to make sure I don’t embarrass us both with some glaring misstep in my recipes (“No Katie, an Afghan would never use brown rice in her challaw”).

Humaira and I both strive to have our recipes be as authentic as possible.As self-appointed ambassadors for Afghan cooking, we’ve collectively wondered how much room there is to “play” with ingredients.It’s a little tricky.Luckily, Afghan food is not a cuisine of extremes.There aren’t a lot of unusual ingredients, strange tastes or searing spiciness.But I do find myself wanting to tinker with recipes and ratios to suit my own American tastes.

For example, in Afghanistan when you are served kofta (seasoned ground beef or lamb), the amount of oil used is a measure of the cook’s generosity.So when a host sets kofta swimming in fat in front of you, it’s a sort of honor.But I use a lighter hand with the olive oil bottle.To me, it’s more appealing, healthier and more balanced.

Also, I’m a nut for dark leafy greens.Much to my kids' chagrin, I manage to work kale, chard and beet greens into all manner of dishes throughout fall and winter.My favorite Afghan recipes are no exception.I’m particularly fond of melting chard into aush, a tasty Afghan soup.It’s not something you’d see back in Afghanistan and I’ve wondered if this renders my aush an interloper.But isn’t that the beauty of home cooking, the freedom to make each dish your own?

So, I was comforted when I attended a panel discussion of Central Asian chefs called “Spice Route Meets California Cuisine.”The three presenters, Sri Gopinathan, chef of Campton Place, Hoss Zare, of Fly Trap, and Afreen Wahab, an academician, all agreed that bringing old world foods to new world cultures does sometimes mean making changes.

Interestingly the panelists pointed out that even within India, the country’s famous spice blend garam masala varies not just by region or even by village, but by cook.There is no “right” way to make it.Each housewife crafts her own version according to her personal taste.

Afghans have their own “garam masala” I suppose.It’s the spice mixture used in palau,Afghanistan’s classic chicken and rice dish.And every Afghan cook does it her own way.Ours has just a few ingredients:cumin, cardamom, and black pepper.My American twist on the combination is to use it as a spice rub for chicken, lamb or beef.This is hardly authentic, but wholly delicious.

Palau Spice Mixture

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 ½ tsp. ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine the spices.Use in palau (see recipe under main dishes) or as a spice rub for grilled lamb, beefor chicken along with a sprinkling of salt.

Seasonings used in palau, clockwise from top left: black pepper, salt, cumin, and cardamom

03/27/2010

A bowl of almonds and walnuts in the shell along with a nut cracker next to it was a permanent fixture on our living room coffee table when I was growing up. I had forgotten about this until recently when I went to Humaira's house and she set out a bowl of shelled walnuts. She told me her mother, Jeja had cracked them herself. The image of Jeja, sitting at home, working her way through a bag full of nuts for her children and grandchildren was heartwarming, to say the least. A labor of love, no doubt, by a woman who doesn't necessarily always know how to express her affection. The walnuts were in a different category altogether from what I might find in the bins at my local market: unblemished, with a sheen to the walnut skins, sweet, completely lacking any need for adornment.

This got me to thinking about one of my favorite Afghan rituals: hot tea with nibbles. In Afghanistan, green or black tea, gently scented with cardamom, is served practically around the clock. Little dishes of snacky things are set out to enjoy with the tea: freshly cracked nuts, dried apricots, fat golden raisins, candied almonds called noql, spicy chickpeas, and so on. The spicy chickpeas are particularly addictive and a snack that works, to my decidedly American palate, just as well with a cold drink as a cup of tea. You can make them start to finish in a matter of minutes; the key is having your ingredients ready before you begin.

Spicy Afghan Chickpeas

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. ground paprika

1 tbsp. ground chili powder

2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 lb. skinless, unsalted, dry-roasted chickpeas

Heat a wok or large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add oil, paprika, chili powder and salt and quickly stir to make a paste. Immediately add chickpeas and stir-fry for 1 minute, turning the chickpeas in the pan to coat with the spices. Pour into a colander. Shake the colander for 1 minute to eliminate extra spices. Let cool and store in a jar with a tight lid.

*You can find dry roasted chickpeas in Middle Eastern and Indian Markets

12/30/2009

Bolani e kachaloo, unleavened bread stuffed with potato, scallions and cilantro is one of my favorite Afghan snacks.It’s in complete opposition to Mr. Atkins’ dietary rules: starch on the outside, starch on the inside.Maybe that is what makes it so delicious.Bolani can also be filled with other delicious stuffing:Chinese green onions (gandana) , spinach,lentils, butternut squash or whatever you like.

Afghans make bolani for special occasion such as birthday parties, engagement parties or holidays.Nowadays most Afghans in the East Bay order their bolani from the many local Afghan restaurants.The most popular source is Fremont’s beloved hole in the wall De Afghanan restaurant which is reminiscent of kebab houses in Kabul.Some of my non-Afghan friends have discovered bolani sold by the folks at East West Gourmet Foods who set up shop at many of the Bay Area farmers markets.

On a field trip to Little Kabul last spring, Katie and I watched in awe as the cook at De Afghanan brought out a piece of bolani dough the size of a large pizza, spread a generous amount of potato mixture on it and then browned it as we watched.Somehow the two of us managed to eat most of this flavorful bread, along with a huge order of chicken kebab.In the Afghan community the De Afghanan version of bolani is now lovingly called Fremont style.

Although in Afghanistan everyone makes their own dough, over the years my mom Jeja and her fellow Afghan ladies have developed short cuts to making bolani .They use a bread dough bought from Costco or flour tortillas, the latter of which we think is the best and easiest way to go.For this post I’m sharing both a recipe for the homemade dough and also the method using tortillas.I have to confess once they were cooked it was hard to distinguish one from the other.Both tasted great.

We like to make bolani as an appetizer, an elegant addition to a dinner instead of bread, a yummy sandwich alternative in our kids’ lunch boxes or a quick snack to reheat in the toaster.

Instructions:Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Slowly add the water and the teaspoon of oil and mix the dough together, kneading it a little until it forms a ball.If the dough is too dry to come together, add more water, a tablespoon at a time.Once the dough is formed, knead it for 10 minutes on a lightly floured cutting board.If you are impatient like us, set the timer so you won’t reduce the kneading time.Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a cloth and let it rest for one hour.

In the meantime , boil the potatoes until soft in the center when pierced with a small knife.Remove from the water and when cool enough to handle, slip the skins off the potatoes.Put the potatoes, cilantro, scallions, 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and mash together with your hands or a potato masher until thoroughly combined.Some lumps are ok. You can also make this the night before and keep it refrigerated until ready to use.

Take a small amount of dough the size of a small apple and roll into a smooth ball.Spread some flour on the wood board and roll out the dough using a rolling pin.Continue to flatten the dough until it takes a round shape, is as thin as a tortilla, and about 10-12 inches across.The thinner the dough the better. If you have trouble rolling the dough to the shape you want, use a lid from a pot to trace a perfect round shape.

Spread ¼ cup of potato mixture on one side of the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch border around the rim.Fold the other half over and press the dough together with your finger to form a seal.

Heat the remaining ¼ cup of oil in a medium-size sauté pan over medium-high heat.Brown the bolani, two at a time, until golden on both sides.The bolani should sizzle when they hit the pan. Lay cooked bolani on a paper towel. Add more oil to your pan if your oil starts to reduce. These are best served warm but are tasty at room temperature.

Serve with plain yogurt

Short Cut:

If you don’t want to make the dough use flour tortillas instead, it always turns out well and saves time.

2 tbsp. flour

2 tbsp. water

6 6-inch flour tortillas

In a small dish, mix together the flour and water to make a paste.Set a tortilla on your work surface and spread ¼ cup of the potato mixture on the tortilla, leaving a half-inch border around the rim.Using your finger spread a small amount of the paste around the edge of half of the tortilla.Fold the tortilla over, encasing the potatoes into a half circle.Press the two sides of the tortillas together firmly to form a tight seal. Brown the bolani following the instructions in the recipe above.

Bolani cut out with potato mixture

Folded over and pressed together

Using a tortilla you leave a wider edge for the paste which will hold the tortilla closed.

10/31/2009

It’s a tongue twister we all remember growing up with…but people really do pickle pumpkins. At least Afghans do.

Every year around Halloween, my mom Jeja asks that we keep our Halloween pumpkins for her.She uses the pumpkin to make turshee (the Dari word for pickle). You can use a varietyof vegetables or even fruit to make turshee, but this time of year pumpkins are particularly festive. Jeja uses pumpkins, peppers, baby eggplants, garlic and sometimes peaches.

Katie was skeptical about using common Halloween pumpkins for culinary purposes.

Most households throw them away along with the Halloween candy wrappers, but I assured her that it's been road tested by Jeja.

This year I took a stab at making turhee but I used the sugar-pie pumpkin and lipstickpeppers that came in my weekly organic vegetable box. Having tried Jeja's turshee I canassure you that your halloween pumpkin will be a great substitue for this recipe. Just make sure you are not using one that has been carved and sitting on a front stoop for the last two weeks.

You can use any kind of pepper you like: red or green bell pepper, or even jalapeno if you like things spicy. In my family we eat turshee along with other Afghan dishes such as kebabs, quorma, and rice. I think it will go very well with steak, hamburger or other types of non Afghan meat dishes. It’s tart and tender and really delicious.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pumpkin and boil for 5 minutes.

Add the peppers to the pot, boil for 2 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce through the pumpkin but don’t let it get too soft.

Drain the contents of the pot into a colander and let it cool, about 15-20 minutes.

In a large bowl add all ingredients except the garlic. Stir and then let it sit for an hour to soak. Transfer the contents of the bowl into the jar with a ladel and intermix the garlic so it looks layered in the jar. Be sure all the spices made it into the jar. Also, the liquid should be 1 inch above the ingredients.If not, just add more 2 parts vinegar and 1 part water.

Close lid, store in a cool, dry dark place for two weeks. This recipe can be doubled.